After achieving fame early as Buttercup in The Princess Bride, Robin Wright Penn zeroed in on the bits and pieces of the celebrity existence that worked for her, rejecting the rest. Now, at 43, she appears poised to break out of her cocoon of self-doubt with four movies releasing this year alone. In the September issue of More, she discusses her rollercoaster marriage, why she considers herself a “late bloomer,” and the empty nest. Excerpts from the interview, on newsstands August 25, follow:
For the first time, she confirms that she has no plans to reconcile with husband Sean Penn: “I hit that crossroad a while ago—for Robin [jabbing her hand at herself], the ‘I know what I don’t want’ was flashing in neon lights,” she says, “I have no regrets. I, we, have two amazing children we raised together.”
On being “stagnant”: “I think I f*cked myself by not being strong enough. It’s almost like waffling—you know, ‘Can I do this? Could I do it completely, with conviction, and be successful?’ I think that’s being young and finding out who you are, and all of a sudden, post-40, you just go, ‘I do know.’ I have the answer; there’s not as much questioning of my abilities.”
On moving forward: “There’s clarity of life now,” she says. “I think I’ve always been a follow-the-leader with my career, or maybe waiting for things to happen. Now I’m like, ‘I’m OK—I know the direction, whoever’s on board can go with me.”
Coping with empty nest syndrome: “At least twice a week, I pull over and sob” says the actress, her eyes welling. “My baby is leaving. It’s an emotionally full time, but it’s not sad. I can’t wait for Dylan to go [out and] live. That’s what makes me cry.”
On her fear of public speaking: “There’s not the protection of playing somebody. But put me in front of a camera and I could masturbate if that was what was required of my character.”
How Meryl Streep affected her career: “Everything I would have wanted to do had already been done by Meryl Streep,” she says, “Sophie’s Choice. Kramer vs. Kramer. Silkwood. Done.”
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Robin Wright Penn on the September Cover of More Magazine
1 Comment --
Tue, 08/18/2009 - 8:31am
Princess Bride is one of my FAV movies of all time. I love this interview that you posted. I feel like I can relate to Robin in what she says here.